BCX19: IoT Hackathon Shaping the Factory of the Future

Co‑Authors

• Frieder Seibold – X UP
• Stefan Jedlitschka – X UP
• Wilma Weps – Manufacturing Challenge Hack MC

About Bosch ConnectedExperience

In 2019, 700 developers tackled a wide array of challenges at BCX19, spanning Mobility, Manufacturing, Buildings, Utility Cross‑Domain, and Social Impact. Bosch ConnectedExperience (BCX) is an IoT hackathon that unites backend and frontend developers, product owners, product managers, UX experts, and innovators from Bosch customers, partners, and start‑ups to co‑create the factory of tomorrow.

The Manufacturing team shares their experience in this blog post.

How the IoT Hackathon Works

1. The Wall of Pain

This wall aggregates real‑world problems that hack teams must solve.

2. The Wall of Gain

Teams receive a specific task and must devise a solution. Hack coaches evaluate the prototype and determine whether the team can advance.

3. The Wall of Fame

To reach the semi‑finals, teams present their solutions to coaches and enablers in a 100‑second pitch. The presentation must clearly answer:

• Why the product solves a real problem
• How the technology was implemented
• What the product delivers

Advancing to the Semi‑Finals with X‑UP

As hack enablers and coaches, X‑UP offered:

Persona as a Service

We tested ideas against realistic personas—machine operators, engineers, managers—asking questions such as: "Why do I need this solution as an engineer?" or "What matters most to a machine operator?"

Pitch Training

Training covered pitch fundamentals, time‑saving techniques, concise messaging, business model creation, body language, audience interaction, and design principles.

Semi‑Finals

In the semi‑final, 35 top solutions were showcased. An online vote decided which five teams advanced to the final at Bosch ConnectedWorld.

Final at Bosch ConnectedWorld

The finalists presented once more before the entire Bosch ConnectedWorld audience and a distinguished jury:

• Bernd Heinrichs – Executive Vice President & Chief Digital Officer, Mobility Solutions, Bosch (Mobility)
• Martina Merz – Board of Management, ThyssenKrupp (Social Impact)
• Matthias Postina – Innovations Manager, EWE (Utility Cross‑Domain)
• Rolf Najork – President & CEO, Bosch Rexroth (Manufacturing)
• Stefan Ferber – CEO, Bosch.IO (Bosch IoT Suite)
• Tanja Rückert – President & CEO, Bosch Building Technologies (Buildings)

Winner: Team Manufacturing – “Pay‑Per‑Use Equipment as a Service”

Team Manufacturing claimed the BCX19 title with their Pay‑Per‑Use solution, which automatically invoices customers via SAP based on machine usage time and tool wear.

What?

• End‑to‑end Equipment as a Service (EaaS) process
• Flexible outcome‑based pricing for operators

How?

• Consumption‑based billing
• Integration of IoT data with SAP contract and billing systems

Why?

• Shift from selling machines to selling outcomes
• Enable true Equipment as a Service (EaaS)